Public can board real warship in Seal Beach this weekend

Oct. 5, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102) is on its way to a scheduled Pacific Deployment in support of Maritime Strategy. The ship will be open to the public Oct. 13-14 in Seal Beach. MC3 PHILIP WAGNER, JR., U.S. NAVY

The guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102) is on its way to a scheduled Pacific Deployment in support of Maritime Strategy. The ship will be open to the public Oct. 13-14 in Seal Beach. MC3 PHILIP WAGNER, JR., U.S. NAVY

SEAL BEACH – The movie "Battleship" was loosely based on the classic board game. But the ship it featured was real, and the public is invited to check it out this weekend.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson will be open for free tours at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The warship was commissioned in 2007 and was one of the ships featured in the summer movie "Battleship."

The vessel returned recently from a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, according to a news release.

Cameras are permitted but no backpacks or handbags will be allowed onboard the ship. The tour is free and reservations are not required

The public can enter via the station's Wharf Gate, located on Seal Beach Boulevard, 200 yards south of the Pacific Coast Highway intersection. Attendants will direct drivers to free parking.

Additional information is available on the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Facebook page and www.sampson.navy.mil.

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